Stories on the Spot!
A fun activity to get kids excited about reading and writing
A big MAHALO to Mariaha Ah You and Messy Mind Books for joining me at Kaaawa Elementary Bazaar and for making this video:
This was my second year at the Kaaawa Elementary School Bazaar. I love selling books at pop-up markets in Hawaii where I get to meet people from all over the world who come to visit the islands. This market is a special one since it’s a fundraiser to benefit the Kaaawa Elementary School PTO. It’s especially fun to see so many of the amazing young people I write books for stop by my booth!
For this market I wanted to try something new. I’d done a book signing a few months earlier at the Leaf & Lore bookshop in Buena Vista, Virginia, along with another author and a poet. The poet, Ella Grace Foutz, had brought an old-fashioned typewriter and was typing out poems for people. I requested one for myself about the changing colors of autumn leaves, and she wrote me this lovely poem, which now holds a place of honor on my writing wall.
You can buy Ella’s beautiful novel-in-verse, “Lullabies for the Insomniacs” here on Amazon.
At the book signing, I have to admit, I was jealous. Yes, I enjoyed handing out stickers and chatting with book shop customers, but Ella over there was writing. My very favorite thing to do in the whole wide world. I wished I was writing!
So, when it came time for the Kaaawa market, I went in prepared.
First, I asked Daniel, my child for whom I wrote the first Barley and Rye story many years ago, to come along and handle the selling for me. I was going to be too busy writing stories! I don’t have an old-fashioned typewriter, but I do have a fancy glass pen, a collection of sparkly inks, and colorful origami paper squares. I also created a prompt sheet for people to fill out:
I admit I was a little bit nervous. I’d never tried this before. But I’m always up for a new adventure!
The weather on market day was perfect! Lots of sunshine and a little breeze to keep everything cool. I set up my table and it wasn’t long before I got my first Story on the Spot customer. When I started writing their story, I didn’t know how it was going to end, but by the time I’d introduced the setting, the character, their goal, and the obstacle, an interesting twist popped into my head and I knew how to end it. Just like magic, it happened every time.
I got some marvelously creative prompts. Someone asked for a story about a boy who lived in New York City and wanted a helicopter. Another about two kids who were looking for treasure in a swamp. Another about a magical dog with a diamond collar. I had so much fun writing them all.
One girl kept coming back for more stories. I finally told her that if she wanted me to write her another, she would have to write one for me. I filled out the Story on the Spot sheet for her, asking for a story about an albatross who wanted to swim from Oahu to Maui, but couldn’t because she was afraid of sharks. This amazing young writer came back a while later with an incredibly good story! It was clever and funny and I loved it.
By the end of the day I had more stories than I had time to write before the market closed. I finished those up a few days later, took pictures, and sent them via text. Here’s one about three girls who wanted to dance hula at the luau but couldn’t because they didn’t know how:
One of my favorites was a story that ended with a twist that was more of a beginning than an end. It was about a girl who sees a magical alternate world through the windows of her class at school, and everyone thinks she’s just making it up. Here’s the first page. I challenged the young writer who asked for this story to write the rest of the book.
Stories on the Spot was a great success! I’m looking forward to doing it again at my next pop-up market.
Take the Stories on the spot challenge!
Give it a try yourself! You might be surprised at how easy and fun it is to come up with a story. You can do this activity with a partner or a group.
For each person:
A pen
A Stories on the Spot prompt sheet (I’ve made a pdf you can print and use!)
A sheet of paper to write on
INSTRUCTIONS:
Have everyone answer the questions on the Stories on the Spot sheet.
Pass the sheets around so that everyone has someone else’s answers.
Start writing! Remember, this is a very short story, so keep it simple!
When everyone is done, share your stories!
